This week I’m trying something new, I’m calling it Benwa’s Picks and Bans and I’ll be picking three players I like to do well each day and three players I would avoid each day. Yes it’s the typical Fantasy writer template but I think the name works too well to ignore.

NA LCS Week 8 Day 1 Picks

Dardoch- He is high on the value chart because of his low price but I think a lot of people are on the CLG bandwagon. I personally think CLG has been exposed at IEM and Liquid with some decent preparation, which they had plenty of time for, should know how to beat this CLG team and Dardoch has the advantage over Xmithie talent wise. He’s been a relatively consistent player but ebbs and flows with the team. At 5,100 I think Dardoch is my favorite high value jungler.

Sneaky- This is an easy match up that many will be heavy on. Sneaky is my favorite off the C9 squad for a strange reason, the rise of Jhin and Sneaky is a Jhin god. I have a feeling if the scenario is right and RNG doesn’t ban it, Sneaky will be on Jhin and it could be an incredible game. That aside, I think Renegades new roster will come out to fight and C9 will not shy away. I expect a decently bloody game and I like C9’s ADC to go big.

Mash- TSM is looking better and I would put them pretty heavily favored as the winner but they give up a lot of fantasy points. They tend to fall behind early and make a few bad calls leading to team fight losses. They especially give up a lot of points to ADC and I think IF TiP is going to keep it close or even win, Mash will be a big part. Especially against the TSM duo that, although talented, is prone to dying.

NA LCS Week 8 Day 1 Bans

Darshan- CLG is committed to the split and although Darshan is very talented, split push doesn’t lend itself to fantasy points. His average is relatively low and I don’t want to get caught up in the CLG hype. Even in wins he has scored very low and today CLG is priced way to high for me to invest in a top lane that is prone to not being in team fights.

Feng- Seemingly obvious but I dislike Feng more than any other TiP player. Hauntzer is incredibly talented and I think this is a miss match of skill. If TSM is working on map control they will most likely put Hauntzer on a lot of split pushing and will abuse this matchup. I can see Feng ending up in a bad champion match up and most likely on the wrong end of a lane swap. Avoid Feng if you are investing in TiP.

Balls- I chose to put Balls here not because I think he will do poorly but because I think he will do worse than what his salary says and what most people expect. I’m a massive Seraph believer and I see the top laner being a focus for RNG. This was a roster swap that was meant to keep RNG out of the Challenger Series, they will come to play and I think getting Seraph going at the expense of Balls will be their focus. I think C9 wins and I think Balls plays fine but I don’t see him having a big day worth 7,600$.